Revision as of 05:38, 14 May 2009

Norwegian is the language spoken in Norway. It's closely related to Danish and Swedish, and most speakers of the three languages can understand each other without much difficulty. Norwegian is also historically closely related to Icelandic, but the two are no longer mutually understandable. Written Norwegian is virtually identical to Danish and phrasebooks for the two languages can for most purposes be used interchangeably. Most of Norway's 4.5 million citizens speak Norwegian. Norwegian is written with the latin alphabet and three additional vowels (ø, æ, å).

Because Norwegian is a Germanic language, learning a decent form of Norwegian shouldn't be too hard if you already speak English, German and/or Dutch. Norwegian grammar is similar to English and relatively easy compared to German. For example, the role of a word is determined by its place in the syntax, rather than by morphology. Norwegian basically only has two grammatical cases: Nominative and genitive - genitive differs from nominative by an "s" at the end of the noun (like English but without the apostrophe). Verbs are not conjugated according to person. Adjectives are (like in English) placed before the noun. Norwegian has three grammatical genders, and nouns are inflected according to their grammatical gender. Plural form of noun is often expressed with the suffix "-r" or "-er", for example "en katt, katter" = "a cat, cats".

Although modern Norwegian is relatively easy to understand and practice at a superficial level, learning Norwegian a hundred per-cent fluently is exceptionally difficult. There are several reasons to this: The first thing worth mentioning is that there is a wide range of dialects in Norwegian, that could differ significantly to the standard written form. Due to the country's geography, being extremely long and narrow, these dialects have had the opportunity to develop over time. There is no standard spoken Norwegian, and it is fully socially accepted (even highly regarded) to use your local dialect whatever the context or situation. Politicians and news reporters all do this. Norwegian has a number of idioms, many of which are used regularly but hardly make any sense to an outsider (they just have to be learned). Many idioms originates from playwright Henrik Ibsen, from the ancient sagas (compiled by icelander Snorre Sturlason), or from the Bible, as well as from popular culture. The weak Norwegian verbs could also have one of five different endings.

There are two official variations of written Norwegian: Bokmål and Nynorsk. The differences are small, but important to a lot of Norwegians. Bokmål is by far the most common, and evolved from Danish. Nynorsk is a reconstructed standard written form, devleoped by Ivar Aasen, a teacher and linguist. Aasen traveled through most of the country, except for the eastern parts, because he felt those parts had been too heavily influenced by Danish language. Between 1848 and 1855, Aasen published a grammar, lexicon, dialect samples, and a set of readings as he developed Nynosk (called then landsmål) A summary of the language situation can be found at: http://odin.dep.no/odin/engelsk/norway/history/032005-990497/index-dok000-b-n-a.html

In 2003, approximately 15% of primary school pupils were in school districts that taught Nynorsk as the primary written standard.

Numbers, time and dates
Note that Norwegians use comma as the decimal sign, for instance 12,000 means 12 (specified with three decimal places) not 12 thousand, whereas 12.000 means 12 thousand. Norwegians use both 24 and 12 hour system, spoken often 12 hour system and 24 hour system in writing. Norwegians don't use PM/AM to indicate morning or afternoon. Dates can be abbrivated in a number of ways, but the order is always DATE-MONTH-YEAR, for instance 12.07.08 is July 12, 2008.

Other notable features:

Unlike some Germanic neighbors, in Norwegian the definite article is postfixed (a suffix) while the indefinite article is a separate word like in english (a house = et hus; the house = huset).

Verbs are not conjugated according to the person.

Capital letters reserved for names of persons or places as well as beginning of sentences.

Norwegian has three unique vowels: æ, ø, å (more below)

Norwegian has less french/latin words than English, but still enough "international" words (adopted from English, French or Latin) that are understandable for most visitors. For instance: information = informasjon, telephone = telefon, post = post, tourist = turist, police = politi.

Unlike English, Norwegian words are compounded to form new nouns. There is in principle no limit to the number of new nouns that can be created, unless these are "decomposed" some of these may not be found in dictionaries or phrasebooks.

Pronunciation Guide

Norwegian spelling is pretty simple and regular (compared to, say, English), but like most real languages, it is unfortunately not completely regular.

Vowels

Each vowel can be pronounced either as "long" or "short". A "short" vowel will almost always be followed by a double consonant (i.e. two similar consonants, such as ll or tt). A long vowel is not.

For example, in Norwegian "it" will be pronounced as in eet, whereas "itt" will be pronounced as English it.

(There are some exceptions to this rule: if the consonant is followed by another consonant, it does not always need to be doubled to make the vowel short.)

The Norwegian vowels are pronounced in almost the same way as in German. The Norwegian alphabet has three letters more than the English alphabet, vowels æ (Æ), ø (Ø), and å (Å). Here's the full list:

a

like 'a' in "father"

e

like 'e' in "where" (but like æ if it is followed by a double consonant)

i

like 'i' in "pin"

o (short)

like o in how the British say "lord"

o (long)

similar to o in "lord", only longer

u

in the middle of "soothing" and "jew"

y

like 'i' in "pin" (but darker; y doesn't correspond to any sound in English. English speakers may have difficulty distinguishing Norwegian's i and y. It's similar to German ü or French u.) One starts with making the "o" sound with one's lips but saying the "ee" sound in "steel".

æ

like 'a' in "hat"

ø

like 'u' in how the British say "burn". One starts with e and rounds one's lips to produce ø.

å

like 'o' in how the British say "lord" (Note: somtimes written as "aa")

Consonants

b

like 'b' in "book"

c

like 'c' in "cat" (mostly foreign words, no function in Norwegian)

d

like 'd' in "dog", silent at end of syllable or at end of word.

f

like 'f' in "face"

g

like 'g' in "good", but like 'y' in "yes" before i or j, silent at the end of some words

h

like 'h' in "hat", silent before j or v

j

like 'y' in "yes"

k

like 'k' in "keep", but like 'ch' in German "ich" before i or j (IPA:[ç])

l

like 'l' in "late" (some variation)

m

like 'm' in "mouse"

n

like 'n' in "nice"

p

like 'p' in "push"

q

like 'q' in "quick" (mostly foreign words)

r

like 'r' in "feather" (many different variations ranging from Spanish to French sounding, in west Norway typically powerfully pronounced)

Jeg er lei meg. (Jei ær lei mei)Not used nearly as often as in english, this sincerely means you are sorry, or can even be interpreted to mean you are sad (usually not associated with guilt). Eg er lei meg ("Eg er leih megh")

God natt. (Go natt)Never used as a greeting, unless you you want to make a joke. This is potentially troublesome. If you must greet someone at night, use Hallo, Hei, or Hyggelig å møte deg (Nice to meet you), or even God dag (even though it's in the middle of night).

Problems

Leave me alone (please).

Kan du (være så snill å) la meg være alene. (...)Note: være så snill å means be so kind as to, directly translated, but there are no direct replacement for please. The english word is sometimes used if said imparatively or beggingly.

Don't touch me!

Ikke rør meg! (...)

I'll call the police.

Jeg ringer politiet. (...)Note: This really means dial the police on the phone. Since there aren't many street cops in Norway, if it's really an emergency, it would make more sense to simply cry Hjelp! (Help), and hope a random person will come to your rescue.

Jeg har gått meg bort. (...)Even though this is under the problems section, this phrase comes out sounding like you have wandered the woods for days without food or rest, having no idea where you are or where to go (in which case it would be obvious anyway). Either that, or you're 5 year old, in which case getting lost from your parents is equally serious. See below for a more reasonable alternative. More neutral is "Jeg har gått meg vill"

Can you tell me where I am?

Kan du si meg hvor jeg er? (...)

Can you tell me the way to ___?

Kan du si meg veien til ___? (...)

I lost my ___.

Jeg har mistet ___ [min (sg. m./f.)/mitt (sg. neu.)/mine (pl.)]. (...)While almost any kind of carry-on item can be called bag in English, in Norwegian it means a duffle bag. You usually have to be more specific, here are a few alternatives, as part of this sentence, you should also read the part in parenthesis to get the grammar right.

Numbers

syv (...)Another variant (above) is slightly more common in some age groups and geographical regions. Old system

8

åtte (...)

9

ni (...)

10

ti (...)

11

elleve (ell-ve)

12

tolv (tåll)

13

tretten (...)

14

fjorten (...)

15

femten (...)

16

seksten (seis-ten)

17

sytten (søtt-en)

18

atten (...)

19

nitten (...)

20

tjue (kju-e)Note: Used in new counting system (see below)

20

tyve (...)Note: Used in old counting system (see below)

21 and on

Larger numbers than twenty can be written several ways in Norwegian. Sometimes each word is written separately. Sometimes hyphens are used. And sometimes, the whole number is written as one large word; there are two ways of counting from 21-99.

New counting system

The new counting is what most people use nowadays. And probably what they would consider using to someone having problems understanding. This is what you should learn.

21

tjue en (kju-e en)

22

tjue to (...)

23

tjue tre (...)

Old counting system

The old counting system is slightly more illogical, but still quite a few people use it. Its popularity increases with the age of the speaker. Most people will probably revert to the new counting system if they realize the speaker is not fluent in norwegian, but here it is for completeness (In English this system has been used in the past, but a change analogous to the new system in Norwegian occurred a long time ago, so few realise this now, although the reminders exist in the teen numbers and the Four and twenty blackbirds nursery rhyme).

Clock time

24h system

The simplest way to say time is to use the 24 hour system.

08.00

klokka åtte null null (...)

19.37

klokka nitten tretti sju (..)

01.01

klokka ett null en (...)

12 hour system

There is no universal AM/PM usage in norway. If people are not familiar enough with english to understand you saying the time in english, they will probably not understand AM or PM either. To disambiguate time, you can look at the section called Time (morning, evening, etc). It can be hard to choose the correct preposition/grammar to use for these (which depends a lot on context, past, future, etc), so the easiest is to simply append it after having said the time.

The clock-hour can be divided as follows

10.00

klokka 10 (...)

10.05

fem over 10 (femm åv-er ti)

10.10

ti over 10 (...)

10.15

kvart over 10 (...)

10.20

ti på halv 11 (...)

10.25

fem på halv 11 (...)

10.30

halv 11 (hall 11)

10.35

fem over halv 11 (...)

10.40

ti over halv 11 (...)

10.45

kvart på 11 (...)

10.50

ti på 11 (...)

10.55

fem på 11 (...)

Duration

_____ minute(s)

_____ minutt(er) (...)

_____ hour(s)

_____ time(r) (...)

_____ day(s)

_____ dag(er) (...)

_____ week(s)

_____ uke(r) (...)

_____ month(s)

_____ måned(er) (må-ned/månt-er)

_____ year(s)

_____ år (...)

Days

today

i dag (...)

yesterday

i går (...)

tomorrow

i morgen (i må-årn)

this week

denne uka (...)

last week

forrige uke (fårr-je u-ke)

next week

neste uke (...)

Sunday

søndag (...)(The week begins on a Monday in Norway, and days are not capitalised)

Taxi

Taxi!

Taxi! (...)Cultural note: Shouting or whistling for a taxi is considered rude in Norway, and drivers are likely to ignore you if you do. Wave your hand at, phone or simply walk up to one with a lighted sign on the roof.

Take me to _____, please.

Kan du kjøre meg til _____. (...)

How much does it cost to get to _____?

Hvor mye vil det koste å kjøre til _____? (...)Note: Unless it's a really long (several hours) and thus ridiculously expensive drive where you can make a special deal with the driver, it's gonna cost as much as the meter shows. Expect an approximate reply if any.

Take me there, please.

Kan du kjøre meg dit? (...)

Lodging

Do you have any rooms available?

Har du noen ledige rom? (...)

How much is a room for one person/two people?

Hvor mye koster et enkelt/dobbelt-rom? (...)

Are bedsheets included in the price?

Er sengetøy inkludert i prisen? (...)

I would like some bedsheets

Kan jeg få med sengetøy? (...)

I don't need/I bring my own bedsheets

Jeg trenger ikke/Jeg har mitt eget sengetøy (...)

Does the room come with...

Har rommet ... (...)

...a bathroom?

...eget bad? (...)

...a telephone?

...egen telefon? (...)

...a TV?

...TV? (te-ve)

May I see the room first?

Kan jeg få se rommet først? (...)

Do you have anything _____?

Har du et _____ rom? (...)

...quieter

...mer stille (...)

...bigger

...større (...)

...cleaner

...renere (...)

...cheaper

...billigere? (...)

OK, I'll take it.

OK, jeg tar det. (o-kå, jei tar de)

I will stay for _____ night(s).

Jeg blir her _____ natt/netter. (...)

Can you suggest another hotel?

Har du et annet hotell å foreslå? (...)

Do you have a safe?

Har du en safe? (har du en seif)

Do you have a locker?

Har du ett låsbart skap? (...)

Is breakfast/supper included?

Er frokost/middag inkludert? (...)

What time is breakfast/supper?

Når er det frokost/middag? (...)

Please clean my room.

Kan du vaske rommet mitt. (...)

Can you wake me at _____?

Kan du vekke meg klokka _____? (...)

I want to check out.

Kan jeg få sjekke ut nå?. (...)

Money

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?

Godtar du amerikanske/australske/kanadiske dollar? (...)

Do you accept (British) pounds?

Godtar du (britiske) pund? (Go-tar du brit-isk-e punn)

Do you accept credit cards?

Godtar du kredittkort? (...)

Can you change money for me?

Kan du hjelpe meg å veksle penger? (...)

Where can I get money changed?

Hvor kan jeg få vekslet penger? (...)

Can you change a traveler's check for me?

Kan du veksle en reisesjekk for meg? (...)

Where can I get a traveler's check changed?

Hvor kan jeg få vekslet reisesjekker? (...)

What is the exchange rate for ___?

Hva er valutakursen for ___? (...)

Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?

Hvor er nærmeste minibank? (...)ATM = minibank

Eating

A table for one person/two people, please.

Kan jeg få et bord for en/to personer? (...)

Can I look at the menu, please?

Kan jeg får se på menyen? (...)

Can I look in the kitchen?

Kan jeg få se kjøkkenet? (...)Note: This is usually a grave insult. If you feel that bad about eating there, go somewhere else instead.

Is there a house specialty?

Hva er spesialiteten deres? (...)

Is there a local specialty?

Er det en lokal rett jeg bør smake på? (...)

I'm glutenintolerant.

Jeg er glutenintolerant / Jeg har cøliaki (...)

I'm a vegetarian.

Jeg er vegetarianer. (...)

I don't eat pork.

Jeg spiser ikke svinekjøtt. (...)

I only eat kosher food.

If this is a concern, try another country. Shechita is forbidden in Norway, and meat needs to be specially imported. Try to order fresh fish ("fersk fisk") or something vegetarian instead. Tell the waiter you are an orthodox jew ("ortodoks jøde"), and try to reach an understanding. You will have to compromise, as you can't expect the cook to keep a separate set of pans/knives/etc just for you. If it is a large expensive restaurant, they might be able to do so, but if you are very pedantic about this, you should prepare your own food from carefully selected food in grocery shops.

kaffe og kaker (...)The Norwegian equivalent of tea as a meal is kaffe og kaker – coffee and cakes. You could of course still order tea, if you prefer that.

supper

middag (...)

I would like _____.

Kan jeg få _____. (...)

I want a dish containing _____.

Jeg vil ha en rett med _____. (...)

chicken

kylling (kjyll-ing)

beef

oksekjøtt (...)

fish

fisk (...)

ham

skinke (...)

sausage

pølse (...)

cheese

ost (...)

eggs

egg (...)

salad

salat (...)

(fresh) vegetables

(ferske) grønnsaker (...)

(fresh) fruit

(fersk) frukt (...)

bread

brød (...)

toast

ristet brød (...)

noodles

nudler (...)

rice

ris (...)

beans

bønner (...)

May I have a glass of _____?

Kan jeg få et glass _____? (...)

May I have a cup of _____?

Kan jeg få en kopp _____? (...)

May I have a bottle of _____?

Kan jeg få en flaske _____? (...)

coffee

kaffe (...)

tea (drink)

te (...)

juice

juice (jus)

(bubbly) water

farris (...)

water

vann (...)

beer

øl (...)

red/white wine

rødvin/hvitvin (rø-vin/vit-vin)

May I have some _____?

Kan jeg få litt _____? (...)

salt

salt (...)

(black) pepper

(sort) pepper (...)

butter

smør (...)

Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)

Unnskyld, kelner? (...)

I'm finished.

Jeg er ferdig. (...)

It was delicious.

Det smakte utmerket. (...)

Please clear the plates.

Kan du ta med tallerknene. (...)

The check, please.

Kan jeg få regningen?. (...)

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?

Serverer dere alkohol? (...)

Is there table service?

Kommer dere til bordene? (...)

A beer/two beers, please.

Kan jeg få en/to øl? (...)

A glass of red/white wine, please.

Kan jeg få et/to glass rødvin/hvitvin? (...)

A pint, please.

Kan jeg få en halvliter? (hall-i-ter)

In a bottle, please.

Kan jeg få det på flaske? (...)

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.

Kan jeg få _____ og _____? (...)

whiskey

whiskey (...)

vodka

vodka (...)

rum

rom (romm)

water

vann (...)

club soda

club soda (...)

tonic water

tonic (...)

orange juice

appelsin juice (app-el-sin jus)

Coke (soda)

Cola (brus) (...)

Do you have any bar snacks?

Har du noe barsnacks? (...)

One more, please.

Kan jeg få en til?. (...)

Another round, please.

En runde til! (...)

When is closing time?

Når stenger dere? (...)

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?

Har du denne i min størrelse? (...)

How much is this(that)?

Hvor mye koster denne(den)? (...)

That's too expensive.

Det er for dyrt. (...)

Would you take _____?

Ville du godtatt _____? (...)Note: Bargaining or haggling prices will in most cases get you nothing but puzzled looks and/or angry vendors. The price is on the tag, and unless the item you want is damaged or highly overpriced (higher than usual in Norway) haggling will usually not get you anywhere.

expensive

dyrt (...)

sale

salg

special offer

tilbud

rabatt

discount

cheap

billig (...)

I can't afford it.

Jeg har desverre ikke råd. (...)

I don't want it.

Nei, jeg trenger den ikke. (...)

(I think) You're cheating me.

(Jeg tror) Du lurer meg. (...)This is what you would say right before you call the police.

I'm not interested.

Desverre, jeg er ikke interresert. (..)

OK, I'll take it.

OK, jeg tar den. (...)

Can I have a bag?

Kan jeg få en pose? (...)

Do you ship to ____?

Kan du sende ting til ___? (...)

I need...

Jeg trenger... (...)

...toothpaste.

...tannpasta. (...)

...a toothbrush.

...en tannbørste. (tann-bøsj-te)

...tampons.

...tamponger. (...)

...soap.

...såpe. (...)

...shampoo.

...shampoo. (sjam-po)

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)

...smertestillende. (f.eks Dispril eller Ibux) (...)

...cold medicine.

...hostesaft. (...)translates back to cough lemonade. If that doesn't come close to what you need, go to a doctor.